


To Come Home To

by canthelpmyselves



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Blind Date, Getting Together, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21692749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canthelpmyselves/pseuds/canthelpmyselves
Summary: Maybe fate is trying to tell him something considering how often he seems to be running into a certain speedster outside of heists.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart
Comments: 30
Kudos: 263





	To Come Home To

“Explain to me why I’m doing this again,” Len Snart grumbled as his sister continued to paw the clothes in his closet.

“You haven’t been on a date in years,” she pointed out.

“So?”

“You’re getting cranky,” she continued. “You’ve been back for four months and the only time you leave the apartment is to pull a heist you don’t care about just so you can flirt with the Flash.”

“I do not flirt with the Flash,” Len argued. “I taunt.”

Lisa turned toward him, a navy blue dress shirt in her hands. “You flirt,” she insisted. “Ray said this guy is very cute, very sweet and just your type.”

“What’s his name?” Len huffed, giving in because he knew that gleam in Lisa’s eyes. She was determined to match-make. She had even convinced Mick’s boytoy to find someone to set him up with.

“No clue,” she shrugged. “All I know is that he’ll meet you at the restaurant. Ray made the reservation for you both. Just give the hostess Ray’s name and she’ll introduce you.”

Len pulled on the shirt and buttoned it up. “Fine,” he drawled. “I’ll go on this mystery date but if it doesn’t work out, you leave this alone.”

Lisa rolled her eyes and smoothed his collar. “Whatever. As long as you give this guy a chance.”

Len grabbed his leather jacket, ignoring the blazer Lisa held out. He would give the guy a chance as long as he wasn’t a complete tool like most of Ray’s friends.

*

Len was going to punch Ray Palmer in the face. With brass knuckles. The only saving grace of this blind date was that Barry Allen, Scarlet Speedster, seemed just as stunned as he felt.

Len reluctantly sat down and pasted a smirk on his face, hiding his trepidation. “Hello, Barry.”

Barry looked at the hostess warily. “Um, are you certain there hasn’t been a mistake?” he asked.

The hostess looked from one to the other cautiously. “Guests of Ray Palmer, right?” Barry and Len both nodded and she gave them her best hostess smile. “Enjoy your evening!” Then she rushed away.

Barry slumped and grabbed his glass of water, draining it. “Of course Ray set me up with my own nemesis,” he mumbled.

Len felt a little insulted, to be honest. “Why would you ask Palmer to find you a date?”

“Why would you?” Barry shot back.

“Lisa’s idea,” Len shrugged. “She thinks I need to get out more.”

Barry slowly relaxed and gave a slight smile. “Caitlin’s idea,” he admitted. “She thinks the same thing.”

“So, now what?” Len asked. 

Barry hesitated briefly. “Free meal on Ray?”

Len reached for the menu. “Sounds good to me.”

***

Okay, so maybe Lisa had a point. Len wasn’t particularly enamored with the idea of blind dates (dinner with Scarlet hadn’t been bad, just a bit awkward considering who they were), but maybe he did need to get out more. Being temporarily dead kind of made you reshuffle your priorities. Saint wasn’t exactly a hotbed of relationship-material but there was a new gender-neutral club in Keystone that sounded promising. So, he headed there.

Len regretted it almost immediately. The place was horrible. The music was too loud and had no discernible beat, the people were all twenty years younger than him and, from the taste, the drinks were mostly water and bright food coloring. Ten minutes in and he was ready to leave. Len paid for his ‘drink’ and stood up from the bar. He should have gone to Saints, after all. 

“Snart?”

Len closed his eyes and said a silent prayer before turning and facing the voice. “Scarlet,” he drawled. He blinked several times once he got a good look at the speedster. The tight jeans were no surprise, considering Barry favored skinny jeans, but the rest? The brunette’s hair was gelled into adorable spikes and he was wearing eyeliner and mascara. And was that glitter lip gloss? 

“I wouldn’t have thought this place was your style,” Barry leaned in to say so he could be easily heard over the bass.

Len lifted one eyebrow. “Oh? And what kind of place would you think I’d like?” he asked, not about to admit this club was making him feel old.

Barry shrugged under his tank top, his shoulders on display (and looking good enough to bite). “Someplace with slow jazz and low lights,” he grinned. “You know, more seductive than raucous.” 

That was… unexpected. And fairly accurate. Not that he was going to tell the kid that. “You know me,” he drawled. “I like a bit of chaos.”

A devilish grin spread across Barry’s face. “True. Want to dance?”

Len stared for three stunned seconds. “What?” Barry snickered and grabbed Len’s wrist. The next thing he knew, he was somewhere near the center of the dance floor, his back against Barry’s chest and his hips under Barry’s hands. 

“Come on,” Barry encouraged in his ear. “My friends are too plastered to dance and I can’t get drunk.”

Somehow Len found himself spending the next two hours either twisting and grinding on the dance floor with an insistent speedster or at a small corner table sipping on watery margaritas while they talked about Legends missions or some of the foes Barry had faced while he was gone. It wasn’t until Barry got a text from his foster sister that either of them realized Barry had been abandoned. When that happened, they both left, Barry to speed off and Len to drive back to his current safehouse. As Len lay in his bed he thought back over the night. It had been surprisingly fun. He still hadn’t met anyone he might want to date, but relaxing with Barry had made him a bit less lonely.

***

“Whatcha doing?” Lisa asked as she dropped onto the sofa beside him. Len scowled her way but obediently turned his phone so she could see the screen. “A dating app?” she squealed, excitedly. “Any luck?”

Len huffed and looked back at the screen. “A few seem… marginally acceptable. Most are looking for a sugar daddy or a quick fuck.”

Lisa leaned in close so she could watch him flip through the profiles. “She’s cute,” she pointed one out.

“She’s looking for a ‘fifty shades’ guy,” Len snorted, reading a few preferences. He flipped past a few before coming across one that he didn’t expect.

“Oooh! Cute,” Lisa cooed. She laid her chin on his shoulder and began reading. “Barry Allen, 27, CSI. Hmm, conflict of careers but he’s a tech not a badge.”

Len quickly flipped past Barry and the next three without paying much attention to the profiles. “It was Sara’s idea,” he said coolly. “I don’t think this is for me.” Len turned off his phone and shoved it in his pocket before standing up. “Gotta meet Mick,” he grumbled.

“Old and alone,” Lisa pouted. “That’s how you’ll die.”

Len snorted but didn’t answer as he left the apartment. He straddled his bike and put on his helmet before allowing himself to think about what little he read. He looked around, making sure he was alone before pulling out his phone and opening it up. He flipped back until he came to Barry’s profile again and read through the info. One part, in particular, stood out.

**Looking for: someone to come home to.**

Was it possible Barry was just as alone and lonely as he was? It hadn’t escaped his attention on the Waverider that Palmer, a ‘hero’, was desperate for companionship before he began sleeping qith Mick. Sara had seemed a bit lost, as well. The less said about Hunter’s frame of mind, the better. Stein was probably the only one not lonely but he had a loving wife to go back to. Being a ‘good’ guy didn’t seem to make much difference in whether you were loved or not. Suddenly Len’s phone vibrated in his hand and he watched with disbelief as a message popped up on his phone.

_Dinner? My treat. - Scarlet_

Len’s stomach swooped a bit and he licked his lips nervously. What was the kid playing at? His fingers moved across the screen as he answered.

_Looking for a favor? - Len_

_No. Saw you have a profile on JustMet. I was wondering if you wanted to go out. With me. - Scarlet_

Len’s jaw dropped. Barry had seen his dating profile and contacted him for a date? A real date? Impossible!

_Not looking for pity or teasing, Red. Try it and I’ll ice you. - Len_

_NO! I’m not teasing, Snart. I am asking you on a date. If you’re not interested, no worries. - Scarlet_

Len stared at the message for a few seconds before hitting the phone icon and calling Barry.

“Hey,” the younger man said when he answered.

“You want to date your villain?” Len drawled.

“No,” Barry sighed softly over the phone. “I want to date Leonard Snart.”

“Same thing,” he insisted.

Barry laughed softly. “No, Captain Cold is a bit of a dick. A very dashing, sexy dick, but a dick nonetheless. Leonard Snart is also dashing, but funny, loyal and smart, as well. Smart is sexy, you know.”

Len swallowed, doing his best to ignore the heat crawling up his neck. “Scarlet…”

“Barry.”

Len licked his lips. “Barry,” he corrected. “This is a very bad idea. Your friends would never understand.”

Barry snorted. “Cisco is dating an inter-dimentional bounty hunter who tried to imprison him. Caitlin has an alter ego with anger management issues and her last boyfriend tried to kill us all. Iris spent nine months hiding her boyfriend. Joe lied about his wife being dead. Oliver has dated so many criminals and villains, he could fill ten hours of air time on Dr. Phil. Besides, you don’t have a record anymore and you sacrificed yourself for all of humanity. You’re practically a paragon of virtue at this point.”

Len couldn’t suppress a chuckle at the younger man’s speech. “I’m almost two decades older than you.”

“Nope,” Barry argued. “I’ve spent an accumulated two years in alternate timelines. You were dead for two years. That cuts the age difference down to about fourteen years. Besides, I like older men.”

“Scarlet…”

There was a whoosh of air and Len was suddenly face-to-face with Barry who was grinning widely. Before he could brace himself, warm lips were covering his. Len instinctively opened his mouth for the questing tongue. His left hand came up to tangle in the soft hair at Barry’s nape as two strong arms encircled his shoulders. When they parted, he sucked in a shaky breath, stunned by the bright hope in Barry’s eyes.

“Say yes,” Barry whispered.

“Barry…”

“Say yes, please?”

Len swallowed and relaxed. “Yes,” he whispered back.


End file.
